US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing last night for a three-day visit, during which he is scheduled to hold multiple rounds of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The first bilateral meeting between the two leaders began on Thursday, with Trump praising Xi as a “great leader” and expressing optimism about the future of US-China relations.
Highlighting his long-standing personal rapport with Xi, Trump said the two leaders had consistently managed tensions through direct communication.
“We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along. When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem—people don’t know—whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly,” he said.
Reports suggest that Trump is likely to urge China to play a bigger role in resolving the war in the Middle East, which has now entered its third month. While both the US and Iran have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, tensions remain high in the region.
Accompanying Trump on his high-profile visit is US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Washington hopes to convince Beijing to adopt a “more active role” in resolving the Iran crisis.
Speaking to Fox News aboard Air Force One en route to Beijing, Rubio described the Iran conflict as a significant source of instability that “threatens to destabilise Asia more than any other part of the world because it’s heavily reliant on the straits for energy.”
He added, “It’s in China’s interest to resolve this. We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now in the Persian Gulf.”
Rubio’s remarks contrasted with Trump’s earlier comments before departing for Beijing. The President said he did not believe he needed Xi’s help on Iran and asserted that the US would “win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise.”
However, Trump later told reporters that he planned to have a “long talk” with Xi about Iran during his visit.
A Reuters report, meanwhile, suggests that Trump may not receive the level of support he seeks from Beijing.
While Xi Jinping might agree to encourage Iran’s leadership to return to the negotiating table, he is expected to be reluctant to cut economic ties with Tehran or halt the supply of dual-use goods critical to its military, the report noted, citing analysts.
For China, Iran remains a strategic partner in the Middle East and a counterbalance to the United States. Although the conflict has economic implications for China, it has also diverted American diplomatic and military attention away from the Indo-Pacific region.
During their first bilateral meeting on Thursday morning, Trump thanked the Chinese leader for the reception accorded to him and his delegation, calling it “an honor like few have ever seen before.”
Earlier, Trump was greeted at the airport by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, a rare honor that broke with usual diplomatic protocol.
Why Trump wants China to play a ‘more active role’ in resolving Iran war
